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If you’ve ever dabbled into Law of Attraction principles or other spiritual practices designed to help you grow your business and manifest your dreams, you’ve likely been encouraged to have a gratitude practice.

And, if you’re like a lot of entrepreneurs, including myself. you may find yourself rolling your eyes at this advice.

It sounds too easy, doesn’t it? Just come up with a list of things you’re grateful and that somehow is going to help you manifest your desires.

Really?

Precisely how is THAT going to make you more successful? Especially if you’re struggling right now and the last thing you feel is grateful.

So, I get it. I was skeptical too.

Then, I read a study in the book “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself” by Dr. Joe Dispenza.

A group of participants were asked to hold a beacon with DNA strands in it while focusing on unwinding the strands. If they just used their thoughts to unwind them (like what we all learned in the movie “The Secret”, which was anything you thought about, you attracted into your life) nothing happened.

BUT, the group of participants who felt grateful as they thought about unwinding the strands, they were actually able to unwind them by 25%.

The key is to combine the emotions of gratitude with the power of your thoughts. If you can do this, and do this consistently (like every day) you’ll manifest what you desire.

Gratitude is one of the highest vibrations there is. That means the longer you’re able to stay in gratitude, the longer your energy is operating at that higher level, and as like attracts like, that high vibrational energy is attracting your desires to you.

Now, I’m grossly simplifying Dr. Dispenza’s work here, but if you want a couple of pointers to get started, take a few minutes to watch below:

For many entrepreneurs and business owners, especially when you’re first starting out, the tendency is to charge too little.

Which is why one of the first pieces of advice new entrepreneurs hear is “You’re not charging enough–raise your prices!”

But, my friend Morgana Rae has a different take. What she says is to NEVER charge too much. She believes it will always be easier to ask for — and receive — less than the value you give.

So. she turns it around and asks instead: What would it take for you to charge large amounts of money (even tens of thousands of dollars) and still provide more than enough benefit and value to never feel an inner conflict or guilt?

That’s a great question if you’re ready to start charging large amounts of money.

But what if you’re not?

What if you’re barely making ends meet despite working all the time? What if it’s so bad you find yourself resenting your clients or resenting your business because all you do is work and have nothing to show for it … and you’re still uncomfortable with the idea of raising your rates?

Maybe you’re afraid you’ll lose work. Maybe you think you’re already priced too high compared to your competition? Maybe you’ve even tried to raise your prices and it didn’t work out so you think you’re stuck.

Well I’d like to invite you to encourage this question — maybe the problem is you ARE charging too much?

You might be thinking — how can that be? I’m barely making it as it is.

Well, if you truly believed in yourself and the value you provide to your clients, then you’d likely be charging more.

And the reason why you’re not is because somewhere, deep inside, you don’t believe you’re worth it.

So, what would it take for you to believe you have what it takes to charge more?

I invite you to take a moment to think about it. And, if you want a few more tips, take a moment to watch the video, too:

How many times have we heard it? The secret to success is to have a gratitude practice — write down three or five or 10 things every day you’re grateful for.

Now, I’m not saying that’s not a good thing to do. Any sort of practice that helps you focus on all the wonderful things you have versus what you don’t have is a good thing.

But, the problem with that gratitude practice is that it doesn’t go nearly far enough. You see, the secret of a gratitude practice, what makes it a truly powerful, life-changing practice, is to tap into the FEELING of gratitude.

If you can truly feel grateful, that energy is what will attract more of what you want to you.

But, it goes even deeper than that. Gratitude is actually such a powerful emotion that, if you regularly practice feeling it, it can transform your life. Here are three other ways you can use gratitude to grow your business:

Turn around feelings of entitlement, grumpiness, or general dissatisfaction with your business.

It happens to all of us. We decide we’re done with our business. We’re running off to live in a hut on a beach.

Now, in some cases, there is a good reason for those feelings—maybe they’re an indication of the fact that we’ve actually built the wrong business for us. But, in many cases, we’re just experiencing a moment of entitlement.

No, entitlement-related feelings aren’t only for the Millennials. If you’ve ever had a moment where you found yourself saying things like:

• “This should be easier.”

• “I don’t understand why I’m not successful yet.”

• “I’ve done everything I’ve supposed to and I’m not successful yet.”

• “This isn’t fair!”

I hate to break it to you, but you’re having an entitlement moment.

And, it’s okay. We’re human. Feelings of entitlement are a part of being human. Millennials certainly didn’t invent them.

But, if you’re trapped in that feeling, it’s not going to help you grow your business. One of the best ways to shift that feeling and get yourself out of it is to focus on feeling gratitude, instead. Flip your perspective, and find something you can feel deeply grateful for to concentrate on.

Supercharge what you want to manifest. (Ah, this is a fun one.)

I first learned about this in the book “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself” by Dr. Joe Dispenza, but here’s a (very) simplified version of what he teaches.

If you want to manifest a certain outcome for yourself, like hitting a specific income goal, you can supercharge that manifestation by using gratitude.

If you’re a part of a spiritual community, including the entrepreneurial spiritual community, it’s not uncommon to hear things like:

• Sending love and light.

• I only focus on love, I don’t want to put any energy on anything negative.

• Don’t call anything a failure, you should rephrase that into something more positive.

• You don’t have to do things that scare you to transform, rephrase that into doing things that excites you.

• There’s so much negativity in the world, let’s just talk about the positive.

You get the picture.

This happens so frequently, it actually has a name. It’s called a spiritual bypass.

You’re spiritual! That means you shouldn’t be feeling any “bad” emotions. You only feel love and light and only focus on the positive.

So, let’s talk about this. It sounds good, doesn’t it? Who wouldn’t want to focus just on the good and not on the negative? And, if you’ve studied Law of Attraction, you learn that whatever you focus on expands so of course you want to focus on the good versus the negative.

But, as usual, things are rarely what they seem.

Believe it or not, your fear-based emotions, like grief, anger, fear, exist to help you. Fear is there to because there are times in your life that fear is an appropriate emotion — you seeing a shadow at the end of a dark alley — yes, your fear showing up and telling you to get out of there is a good thing. Anger is a reaction when your boundaries have been violated. Guilt helps us live in a community. And grief lets us know we loved. It’s our badge for loving deeply. And if you allow yourself to go there and fully feel grief and let it move through you, the gifts you’ll receive can change your life.

But, those emotions uncomfortable, so in many cases we don’t want to feel them. Instead we do all sorts of things to keep ourselves from feeling them — we drink, overeat, gossip, fight, shop, post inappropriate things on social media, distract ourselves by being “too busy,” etc.

The problem is, ignoring our emotions or burying them or running away from them doesn’t mean they go away. Nope. Feelings just want to be felt. They stick around and bother you until you feel them. Once you do, then (and only then) will they go away.

And, when you don’t feel them, they build up. Which is why we’ve lost a lot of the benefit those feelings can give us — they’re so built up and so desperately want to be felt they start coming out at inappropriate ways. So, we can’t trust them or trust what they’re trying to tell us.

The good news is all is not lost. We can get back to the place where we can use our fear-based emotions to guide us — all we have to do is start pausing and allowing them to be felt and move through us, no matter how crazy they seem in the moment. And eventually we’ll be able to start trusting them again.

Watch below for more on what you can do to start trusting your emotions.

He started a very successful business that flourished during WWII. When other people were cutting back, he was making money. He invested at the stock market at the right time and made a killing.

Heck, he used to go to Vegas and win at Keno. Keno has some of the worst odds. But, Grandpa would win. $1500 a pop.

Yes, Grandpa was lucky. And he knew it.

So, how did it happen? Was he born under the lucky tree?

Here’s what I think — I think he was lucky because he believed he was lucky.

It was a self fulfilling prophecy.

The more he believed, the luckier he became.

Now, I know some of you are saying “Michele, it can’t be that easy. And besides, I’m not lucky, so this wouldn’t work for me anyway.”

But, what if it COULD be that easy? Us humans like to overcomplicate things–maybe it really IS as simple as it sounds?

Still not convinced? Let me share a story. I decided to test this theory on myself.

For years I never won at raffles. Never won. I used to say things, “Oh I never win at raffles.”

So, I thought, what if I changed that? What if I started to say I always win at raffles?

Next time I was at a raffle, I decided to believe I was going to win.

And you know what happened? I won!

So, I used that evidence at the next raffle to believe I would win. And it happened again. Pretty soon I was always winning at raffles. It was getting a little embarrassing actually.

Now, I realize if you have all this evidence that you aren’t lucky and you never win at raffles, it may be tough to convince yourself otherwise. So, I would suggest starting small. Do you have parking lot karma? Every time you pull into a parking lot, a spot opens up? Start there.

Or maybe there’s something else you’re always lucky at you can focus on. Something small. Even if it has nothing to do with money. Like maybe you have the best assistant in the world or you have a knack for publishing Facebook posts that get a lot of comments and likes. Or maybe you have a popular podcast. Focus on that. And, every time something happens in your business that’s successful and lucky, add it to your evidence that you ARE successful and lucky.

It likely isn’t going to change overnight. But, it CAN change, if you’re committed to flipping your perspective.

Have you ever had one of those days where it just feels like nothing is going your way and you’re helpless to do anything to change it? Maybe you got a call that your kid is acting up at school, a new client just cancelled and now you feel like you’re about to get sick.

Or maybe it’s not just a day–maybe it’s been weeks or even months where everything feels like an uphill battle. Your business, your relationships, your health. Nothing is getting any traction and you feel like you’re getting tossed about with no control over your life or business.

If this is you — I want to share a story.

In 2012, I had my meltdown. That was a difficult year. I had a lot of challenges including my mom being diagnosed with cancer.

One night in November, I started crying and couldn’t stop. For a couple of weeks after, I had nightmares every night. It was bad. I felt helpless and out of control.

And then, one day, a thought popped into my head. That thought was the old saying: “life is 10% what happened to you and 90% how you respond.”

Now, I had heard this saying many times before, but I had dismissed it. It just felt like one of those silly platitudes that didn’t really mean anything.

But, that day, something shifted. It suddenly landed that I wasn’t helpless after all. That even in the face of things outside of my control, like my mom getting cancer, there were plenty of things IN my control, including my response.

And, I was not responding very well at all.

So, that day I decided it was time to do something different. I got a spiritual mentor and I started down an amazing personal development journey.

Back to you–here’s the truth. No matter what life is throwing at you right now, you ARE in control.

You control how you respond and the decisions you make. You can choose to be empowered and make powerful decisions that are right for you or you can allow circumstances or other people to run your life.

I’ve got more to say about this in the video below, if you want to take a few minutes and watch:

There’s just no getting around it. If you want to be an entrepreneur and own your own business, you gotta sell something.

Because if you’re not selling something — your time, your expertise, a product, a book, an opportunity, SOMETHING — you’re not making any money.

And that kind of defeats the whole purpose of having a business. (Not only that, if you’re not selling something, you actually don’t have a business — you have a hobby.)

But, what if you hate to sell? Then what? How can you sell if you hate selling?

Well, I hate to break it to you but there’s simply no getting around it. If you want to be successful as an entrepreneur or business owner, you’re going to have to pull up your big girl or your big boy panties and learn how to sell.

Yes, you can hire a sales team to help you, but especially when you’re first starting out, you’re going to be your best salesperson. And if you’re selling time with you — coaching or a VIP day or a high-ticket mentorship program — people are going to want to talk to you before they make a final decision. So, learning to sell is kind of important.

Am I telling you to do something you hate? Kind of. But, what I’d really like to invite you to do is to dig into why you hate it.

What is it about selling in your business that you hate? Is it asking someone for money? Is it owning your own value? Do you feel it’s inauthentic to ask for money to do something you love?

Or is it something a little more esoteric, such as do you think all sales people are slimy ands sales-y and you don’t want to be sales-y and slimy either? Or do you think all rich, successful entrepreneurs are greedy and you don’t want to be greedy either?

There may be something coming up for you during a sales conversation you don’t want to feel, so it’s easier to simply hate sales conversations.

But, that’s not necessarily serving you or your business.

Look, you don’t have to love selling to build a thriving, profitable business, but you at least need to not hate it. And, chances are, once you dig more deeply into the reasons why you hate it, you’ll probably realize you actually don’t.

I’m going to start by saying this is a pretty big topic. There are a lot of strategies and tactics out there to help you get clients. There’s really no way I could possibly cover all the different strategies and tactics out there.

Which is why I’m only going to cover one big secret.

And the best part about this big secret? It requires no fancy software, no complicated systems, no huge team, no big budgets … or really any budget.

It’s simple and anyone can do it to get clients, no matter if you just started your business yesterday or if you’re a seasoned pro who has owned their business for twenty years.

Want to know what it is?

Here it is: consistency.

Yes, I know it’s not as sexy as running a Facebook tripwire campaign or starting your own television show. But, really, when all the smoke of the cool tactics clears, what’s left is dependable, but boring, consistency.

You’ve likely heard the adage that it takes an average of 7 follow ups before your customers or clients will say yes to your offers. (Some experts have said that’s too low and it actually takes a lot more “touches” to get clients.)

People need time to get to know you, to see your content, to read your marketing materials, and decide if what you’re offering is right for them.

But, even more than that, your potential customers and clients ARE watching you. They’re watching if you keep your word, if you show up when you said you would, if you finish what you started.

They want to make sure if they say yes to you, you’ll deliver what you promised.

And consistency is a big part of that.

It really doesn’t matter what you strategy you pick to get more clients — Facebook ads, blogs, podcasts, something else. But, whatever you pick, use it consistently.

Now, you may be pooh-poohing this right now — oh this is just too easy. Being consistent, bah. I need to know if I should be posting videos on YouTube or doing Facebook Lives.

But, here’s the thing. The internet is changing so fast that what’s hot today won’t be so hot tomorrow. But if you’re consistently showing up — especially when most other people aren’t — that’s going to make a bigger difference then whatever marketing strategy you pick.

Still think this is just too easy and basic? Well, I have a few more points that may flip your perspective — watch below:

No matter what you’re trying to do — start a business, grow a business, lose weight, write a book, start a new career — having a mentor who can answer questions and help guide you through can be hugely helpful.

The challenge is, how do you make sure you’re finding the right mentor for you?

Well, there are a few things to consider when choosing a mentor:

1. Get clear on precisely what type of mentor you’re looking for. Are you looking for someone who is more of a coach? Or someone who is more of a consultant?

Coaches by definition will ask you a lot of questions and help you sort out what’s right for you. When someone is coaching you, they’re not giving you answers — they’re asking YOU questions so you determine the answer for yourself.

Consultants are the folks who will tell you what to do. They’re the ones who will recommend strategies and ideas.

Most people, even people who call themselves coaches, are some sort of a mix between a coach and a consultant. If someone is telling you what to do and telling you to follow a system, that isn’t coaching. It’s consulting.

So, the question is — what are you looking for? Do you want someone to give you advice and a system and a structure to follow? Or do you want someone who can help you get clear on what you want to create?

Or are you looking for a little of both? Someone who can help coach through you your mindset blocks while providing you with a system and a strategy.

It doesn’t really matter who you’re looking for — what’s important is to get clear on who you are looking for so you can make sure you’re hiring the right person.

2. Make sure you’re actually hiring the type of person you want to work with. Ask them questions. Read their testimonials. Listen to your gut. This is an important decision and you want to make sure you’re hiring the right person.

But, making sure you’re a good match with your mentor is just the tip of the iceberg. You also need to make sure you’re a match with my next step.

3. If you’re looking for a system or a strategy to follow, make sure this is a system or strategy that you actually want.

One thing that I’ve seen over and over is entrepreneurs hiring a mentor to help them build a business. The mentor helps them build the same business the mentor has. Which is all well and good if that’s the business you want.

But, what if it isn’t?

That’s where the problem comes in — you’ve built this business, and maybe it’s even pretty successful and profitable, but you hate it.

Now what?

(Note — my Love-Based Money podcast is full of interviews with entrepreneurs who, much to their chagrin, realized they had built the wrong business.)

The answer to that is another Flip It!, but for now, I would suggest doing some research and really feeling into what sort of business you want and then making sure the mentor you’re hiring actually has that business.

If you’re unclear about what sort of business you desire or what your best suited for, it may be smarter to hire a coach to help you get clear on that first before you figure out what system you want to use.

You’ve likely heard the statement — do what you love and the money will follow.

But is it true?

Well, yes and no.

On one hand, when you do what you love, you’re likely passionate about it as well. Which usually means, you’re also spending a lot of time working on it.

And typically the more time you’re spending at something, the more likely you’ll be successful at it.

In addition, if you look at this from a law of attraction or energetic perspective, love is one of the highest vibrations. So, if you do what you love and love what you do, you’ll be operating at a very high vibration. That means you’ll be attracting money and abundance and opportunities and success.

But — there’s always a but — it’s not that simple.

First off, there seems to me a lot of confusion around doing what you love. Some folks feel like if you’re doing what you love, that means you’re loving what you do.

All. The. Time.

And that just isn’t true.

There are going to be times you’re in the flow and really passionate and loving what you do. And, there are going to be times where it’s a struggle. Or a drain.

Just because you love what you do, doesn’t mean you’ll never feel overwhelmed. Or stressed. Or like you need a vacation.

Plus, you may not love every single part of it. For instance, if you’re a book author, maybe you love writing the first draft but you don’t especially love the editing process. Or maybe you love the writing part but you hate the marketing part.

Or maybe there are just days where you don’t feel like writing. (Spoiler alert: successful authors are the ones who write every day whether they feel like it or not — they aren’t waiting around for “inspiration” or to only do it when they feel like it.)

But, it’s not just about writing. It’s anything you want to succeed at. For instance, if you want to build a successful business around what you love — I can pretty much guarantee you ARE going to have to do things you don’t like.

That in and of itself, isn’t the problem — the problem comes in when you allow the times you aren’t loving what you do to derail you. You don’t follow through on your marketing the way you should. You don’t show up to consistently work on your creative project.

And, consistency is what typically leads to success.

I share more ways you can tweak what you’re doing so you’re doing more of what you love in the video below. Watch now: